The
Confluence
September
2006
The Confluence is the monthly electronic
newsletter of
"The
environmental movement is a struggle over the control of the commons—the
publicly owned resources, the things that cannot be reduced to private
property—our air, water, the wandering animals, the public land... The things
that from the beginning of time have always been part of the public
trust."
- Robert Kennedy, Jr.
In
this issue:
~
~ Lakes and Rivers Conference—September 7-9—Attended By Over
500 People
~
~
Hot
Off the Press
~ Public Comments Requested—New Shoreland Environmental
Review Thresholds
~ Driveway and Parking Lot Sealants Toxic to Aquatic
Life
~ High Levels of Mercury Showing Up in More
Animals
~ Don’t Burn Your Garbage—It’s
Illegal!
Resources
for
Conferences,
Confabs and Conglomerations
The
Bucks Start Here- Funding Resources
~
Minnesota Waters is pleased to
announce the launch of a new pass-through grant program, the Lake and Stream Conservation Partnership,
made possible with funding to Minnesota Waters from the National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation and Anheuser-Busch. The grant program will provide funding assistance for
innovative lake and river groups across the state carrying out shoreland habitat
improvement and restoration projects, aquatic invasive species management,
and/or lake and river inventorying and assessment projects to guide water
resource improvement, restoration and management. The Lake and Stream
Conservation Partnership Program aims to further opportunities for
The grants are open to all
Minnesota Waters members and affiliates.
A minimum 1:1 match with cash or in-kind services is
required. Initial projects will be short-term (12 months) in duration to
demonstrate quick, tangible results and there will also be a $5,000 limit in the
first year. To learn more about the
Lakes
and Rivers Conference Attended By Over 500
People
The 2006 Lakes and
Rivers Conference, hosted by Minnesota Waters September 7-9 in Duluth, was
attended by 550 people representing lake and river associations, local and state
government, non-profits, educators, and businesses who gathered around a common
interest in water resources management in Minnesota. A theme of “The Changing
Landscapes of Minnesota’s Waters” permeated throughout the 48 sessions, 8
workshops, and three field trips over three days to provide attendees with
increased knowledge of water issues, skills to improve the effectiveness of
citizen groups to improve and protect our waters, and resources and tools to put
into action on specific water issues. A plenary session concluded through
a panel of experts that changing social expectations, shifting demographic
projections from urban to rural lake areas, declining and changing recreational
use patterns on our waters, and real climate changes will have broad
implications for the future quality of Minnesota’s waters and our willingness to
protect these resources for future generations to enjoy unless we act now.
Bruce Johnson,
executive director of Minnesota Waters, in his welcoming comments on the
“Changing State of Minnesota’s Waters” highlighted the positive changes
resulting from the merger of the Minnesota Lakes Association and the Rivers
Council of Minnesota to form Minnesota Waters and emphasized the need to change
the way we manage our waters to preserve them for our continued enjoyment and
that of our kids, and our grandchildren. “With growth and development
coming our way, it feels to
me like a steam roller bearing down on our waterways and watersheds…leaving
behind a ribbon of impervious surface honeycombed with token green space and
lined with ditches and detention ponds” said Johnson. “It seems to me we can
either engage in theatrics by throwing ourselves in front of the steam roller or
we can jump in the cab and start talking to the driver and the engineer and the
banker and the customer and convince them to slow down long enough to maneuver
the steam roller away from the natural resources we all enjoy. We are not
about preventing change, but recognizing it, understanding it, embracing it and
using it to sustain the lakes and streams we are so passionate about.” Click here for the complete text of
Johnson’s remarks.
Dr. Martha McMurry from the
For copies of
presentations at the conference, please contact speakers directly.
See www.minnesotawaters.org
for the listing of
speaker contact information.
The next Minnesota
Waters Lakes and Rivers Conference will be held in the fall of 2008 at a
location to be determined; watch for the specific date by the end of 2006.
This fall Minnesota Waters teamed
up with Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR) and the Minnesota Pollution
Control Agency to initiate an innovative citizen monitoring program called the
Stream Health Evaluation Project, or "SHEP", to train volunteers to collect and
analyze bugs (benthic macroinvertebrates) from local streams. Most water quality
samples are a snapshot; they show the quality of water flowing through a sample
site at one instant. However, aquatic insects live in that water year round and
can serve as indicators of water quality. These bugs absorb pollutants, search
for safe habitat and regenerate in these waters. This makes them a perfect
indicator of stream health. Healthy streams have healthy bugs. Sick streams have
fewer, less healthy and less diverse populations.
The pilot launch of the SHEP
Program focuses on collecting macroinvertebrates within the Rice Creek Watershed
District in the Twin Cities, training volunteers to identify all specimens along
with data analysis and interpretation, including quality control and assurance
components to ensure the data collected is reliable and accurate. For more
information on SHEP, please contact Mary Karius at: maryk@minnesotawaters.org.
Minnesota Waters’ new
DVD, "
800-515-5253.
~
Hot Off the Press ~
Public
Comments Requested—New Shoreland Environmental Review Thresholds
The Minnesota
Environmental Quality Board (EQB) is requesting public comments on amendments to
the Environmental Review Program rules,
including proposed new mandatory EAW and EIS categories for development projects
in shorelands. The rule amendments are being recommended by the DNR as a result
of working with an advisory board of DNR staff, local government officials,
environmental groups, including Minnesota Waters, and varied interested
citizens. A complete description of the proposed shoreland amendments is available online at http://www.eqb.state.mn.us/documents/18655/Phase2revisions.pdf;
Appendix A. The EQB must receive comments by
4:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16. Comments should identify the portion of
the proposed rule amendment that is being addressed, the reason for the comment
and any proposed change to the amendment. Interested individuals or groups can
submit written or oral comments, questions and requests for additional
information to Gregg Downing by e-mail at gregg.downing@state.mn.us, by phone
at 651/201-2476, or in writing at 300 Centennial Building, 658 Cedar Street, St.
Paul, MN 55155.
Minnesota Waters will
be commenting on the proposed shoreland thresholds for environmental review.
Those interested in providing comments directly to Minnesota Waters, or who
would like to discuss the thresholds, should contact Paula West at 800-515-5253
or paulaw@minnesotawaters.org
Driveway
and Parking Lot Sealants Toxic to Aquatic Life
Coal-tar based
sealcoat—that black, shiny emulsion painted or sprayed on asphalt pavement such
as driveways and parking lots—has extremely elevated concentrations of
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and can affect the quality of downstream
water resources, according to a recent joint study in
High
Levels of Mercury Showing Up in More Animals
Polar bears in Greenland, mink in
Scientists are finding that the
mercury is highest in critters that eat fish, where mercury builds up through
the food chain from tiny invertebrates and minnows to game fish and then animals
that eat fish. Recent studies also show high mercury in many animals and birds
that eat insects—especially bats and songbirds. "The insect food web does have
the ability to bio-magnify methyl mercury," said David Evers, wildlife
toxicologist with the Biodiversity Research Institute, noting red-winged
blackbirds that eat insects had even higher mercury contamination levels that
kingfishers, which eat fish, on the same body of water. Evers has found that loons with 3 parts per million
mercury in their system produce 40 percent fewer chicks than loons with 1 part
per million mercury contamination. In some areas, such as
The good news, the National
Wildlife Federation notes, is that recent reductions in mercury pollution in
some cases have led to reductions of mercury in local fish and animals. The
Minnesota Legislature in May passed groundbreaking mercury reduction regulations
that require the state's major coal-burning power plants to reduce mercury
emissions. Click
here to read the full NWF report, “Poisoning Wildlife: The Reality of
Mercury Pollution.”
Don’t
Burn Your Garbage—It’s Illegal!
It’s illegal, it pollutes, it’s
dangerous, and it wastes resources. Backyard burning of garbage has been
illegal in
The pollutants not only damage air
quality, they also damage soil and water. Open burning is the cause of many
grass, brush, forest and structure fires. Many of the items commonly
burned could be reused, recycled or composted, such as: newspaper, yard waste,
used oil, bottles, magazines, cardboard, food scraps, office papers, cans,
lumber scraps. A 1994 study done for the USEPA showed that garbage burned
in a burn barrel emits twice as much furans (possible carcinogenic toxins), 20
times more dioxin (an endocrine disrupter) and 40 times more particulate than if
that same pound of garbage were burned in an incinerator with air pollution
controls. Instead of burning:
·
Reduce trash—buy in bulk quantities
and demand less packaging on the products you buy;
·
Reuse
items;
·
Recycle newspapers, office paper,
cardboard, magazines, aluminum, metal and acceptable plastics;
·
Compost leaves, plant clippings and
food waste—many local units of government have compost sites;
·
Chip brush and clean wood to make
mulch or decorative chips, or burn it for home or shop heat;
·
Dispose of allowable wastes at a
licensed landfill. Take advantage of local collection drives for electronic
equipment and other hazardous waste.
~
Resources for
Real-Time
Data from
The LakeSuperiorStreams.org
website delivers intensive real-time water quality data via a unique data
animation tool from sensors in three
Groundbreaking
Study Tracks Cumulative Impact of Development on Water Quality
Loons
Commons- a Blog about Minnesota’s Environment
Are you wondering “what the heck is
a blog?” See Loon Commons, an
online blog forum for current and emerging environmental and
conservation issues in
New
Lawn Care Program Protects Water Resources
To help curb toxic pesticides and
garden chemicals from running off lawns and down storm sewers into Lake
Superior, the Environmental Association for Great Lakes Education (EAGLE) and
the Duluth Community Garden Program (DCGP) recently created the “Safe Lawn and
Garden Campaign” to help northeastern Minnesota residents protect local water
resources. Funded by a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Prevention and
Assistance Grant, the Safe Lawn and Garden Campaign staff will spend the next
year developing a variety of materials featuring easy-to-implement steps people
can take to nurture their yards. Through a series of workshops in 2007, the goal
of the program is to encourage shoreland homeowners and businesses to emulate
the demonstration site's successes rather than use toxic landscape chemicals to
be weed- and pest-free. For more information, see both organizations' Web
sites: www.greatlakesdirectory.com
and www.duluthcommunitygarden.org
or contact Carrie Slater Duffy, 218-726-1828 or MPCA contact Anne Perry Moore at
218-723-2356.
Feeling
the Heat: Global Warming and Rising Temperatures in the
This newly released report finds
that this year’s unprecedented heat wave is part of a broader trend of rising
temperatures in the
Protecting
Your Township from Unwanted Development
Land Stewardship Project’s
newly updated version of its manual on enacting a township interim ordinance is
now available. This new manual reflects changes that have been made to state
laws over the last several years affecting township zoning. These changes
have not weakened township powers, but do affect the process of adopting an
interim ordinance. This manual also includes an opinion from Attorney General
Mike Hatch’s office that affirms an important principle of township rights. The
opinion affirms that when a township enacts an interim ordinance in good faith,
the ordinance is valid, even if it immediately affects only a single proposed
development. Click
here to access the document.
~
Conferences, Confabs and Conglomerations ~
Candidates
Forum on Environmental Issues-September 28, Brainerd
A “Candidates Forum on
Environmental Issues” will be held on Thursday, September 28 at 7:00 pm at the
Northland Arboretum. Candidates for State House Districts 4B, 12A and 12B,
Senate Districts 4 and 12, Crow Wing County Commissioner District 2 & 3, and
Soil & Water Supervisor District2 & 3 have been invited to participate
in this forum on environmental issues. This is a non-partisan event sponsored by
the Brainerd Lakes Area Audubon Society,
Crisis
in the Marsh
October 19, 3:00
- 5:00 p.m., Minnesota Pollution Control Agency,
Baxter/Brainerd
North Central Minnesota is rich
with wetlands and critical habitat, but how are these lands monitored and
protected without being disturbed? Well, if you’re Lieutenant Todd Manley, you do it from the
sky. Beginning in April, the Minnesota DNR has taken to the skies to keep an eye on
these valuable resources. “The DNR is charged with the enforcement of the Wetland
Conservation Act," said Manley. "We can't have a game warden behind every tree.
From the air we can see if an area is being drained, filled or excavated.” LT
Manley will share his work on the wetlands enforcement project called
“Operation Birds Eye”.
The
October 26- 28;
Annual fall conference of the
Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education. For more information, see http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/waee/Events/fall06.htm
Leading
From Within
Oct
19-22, 2006 and Feb. 21-24, 2007,
The Institute for
Conservation Leadership (ICL) will hold another
edition of its Leading From
Within Program. This five-month professional development
opportunity includes two 3-day workshops as well as coaching support.
Leading from Within is for executive directors, board members, and lead staff of
environmental and conservation organizations who are passionate about their
work, energized by a creative peer learning environment, and are eager to
further develop their leadership potential. Leading From Within includes a 360 degree
leadership assessment tool, group experiential exercises, peer exchange, and
learning activities that you will find both challenging and rejuvenating!
Please contact
PLT,
WET, WILD, Aquatic WILD K-8 workshop
December 1 –
December 2; 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.;
This fun, interactive workshop is
for K-8 educators who want to strengthen their existing curriculum with natural
resources-based education. Participants will get PLT (forestry and environmental
education), WET (water education), WILD (wildlife education), and WILD Aquatic
(aquatic wildlife) activity guides which contain hundreds of interdisciplinary,
effective activities that are aligned with
2007
March
3-5, 2007; Wyndham Hotel,
For information; please visit www.mapms.org.
~
The Bucks Start Here ~ Funding Resources
See story above. Application deadline Sept 28.
Project
and Technical Assistance Grants Programs
The Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat and
Network Fund announced two grant opportunities. The Project Grants Program
provides grant awards ranging from $500 to $3,500 to be used for specific
project expenses for river, lake and wetland protection. The Technical
Assistance Grants Program provides grant awards ranging from $500 to $3,500 to
be used to hire a qualified expert to provide strategy assistance such as
organizational development or campaign development. Organizations may apply for
both programs in one application. To view the Request for Proposals and
application format, click here. Deadline September 30,
2006.
Mini-Grants
for Candidate Events
The Minnesota Council of
Nonprofits, through the Minnesota Participation Project, is offering small
grants of up to $200 to cover the costs of non-profit groups hosting a candidate
event. See http://www.mncn.org/mpp/doc/minigrantapp.pdf
for the grant application form. Reminder—501(c)3 organizations can promote
issues, but not specific candidates. Consider hosting a candidate forum to bring
environmental issues in your area to the forefront of your local elections. For
more information on the grant process, contact Joshua Winters, josh@mncn.org, or
call 651-642-1904 x250.
To
have material included for announcement or to request removal of your name from
this mailing list, please send information to paulaw@minnesotawaters.org.
Do
not reply to the listserv from which you received this
message.
Minnesota
Waters promotes responsible
stewardship of our water resources by engaging citizens, state and local policy
makers and other like-minded partners in the protection and restoration of our
lakes and rivers. We achieve our mission through watershed education,
citizen monitoring, supporting conservation stewardship, influencing public
policy and empowering citizen groups to manage their local water
resources.
JOIN MINNESOTA WATERS
TODAY!